UPDATE: Portage Co. inmate dies following jail-cell hanging

By Brandi Makuski

A man who attempted to take his own life while he was an inmate at the Portage Co. Jail on Nov. 10 has succumbed to his injuries.

Portage Co. District Attorney Louis Molepske, Jr., confirmed on Monday that Andrew D. Stanecki, 39, of Rhinelander, died on Nov. 12. Stanecki was an inmate awaiting his initial appearance on multiple charges related to a vehicle pursuit and disturbance at Iverson Park on Nov. 7.

During Stanecki’s Nov. 9 bond hearing, he argued against a cash bond by telling Court Commissioner Melissa Dalkert that he’d recently lost his leg in a motorcycle accident and was unable to work. In the early morning hours of Nov. 10, Stanecki reportedly used an implement from his prosthetic leg to fashion a noose.

Sheriff Mike Lukas said Stanecki hung himself in-between the multiple cell checks that corrections officers perform hourly. Officers found him pulseless and not breathing, and one officer suffered minor injuries while cutting Stanecki down.

“We had multiple corrections officers respond immediately to render aid,” Lukas said. “They immediately called 911 and began CPR.”

Stanecki was initially transported to St. Michael’s Hosptial by a paramedic crew from the Stevens Point Fire Department, who assisted with life-saving measures in the jail. Stanecki was later transported to a hospital in Marshfield, where he died.

Lukas said Stanecki’s death was “pretty devastating” for his officers because “they tried like hell to save his life.”

Molepske said once Stanecki’s prognosis became clear, he dismissed the charges against him, and Stanecki was formally released from Portage Co. custody.

Stanecki was facing charges of possession of methamphetamine, carrying a concealed weapon, and eluding an officer. He was being held on a $1,000 cash bond and had an initial appearance scheduled for the afternoon of Nov. 16.

“The Portage County taxpayers should not be required to pay for his medical care and the cost of guarding him,” Molepske wrote in his Nov. 10 motion. “Accordingly, the State makes this motion to dismiss.”

Portage Co. Chief Medical Examiner Scott Rifleman ruled the cause of Stanecki’s death was the “result of a suicidal ligature hanging that had occurred in the Portage County Jail.”

Stanecki was pronounced brain dead on Nov. 12 and then became an organ donor, Rifleman said.

Brainard Funeral Home in Wausau is handling funeral arrangements.